In 1959 a Jewish couple called Rita and Benny Isen who had just changed their surname to King decided to open one. Rita and Benny: R&B Records. I read somewhere that earlier they sold records from a stall in Petticoat Lane but have no idea whether it’s true. For the first ‘few years the shop was at 282 Stamford Hill (now a builder’s merchants), and then it moved a few doors up to 260 (now Top Pizza). By about 1963/64 they weren’t just selling records, they were releasing them on their own labels — first the parent label, R&B, and then a whole sprawling family of others, including Giant, King, Ska Beat, Hillcrest, Caltone, Jolly, and Port-O-Jam. Their most bizarre label was surely Prima MagnaGroove, devoted exclusively to the output of the Italo-American swing artist Louis Prima (slogan: Stay on the Move, With Prima MagnaGroove). That’s Louis singing ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ in Jungle Book — the king of the swingers.
At first their catalogue was an odd mixture. Their only big hit in the UK was Irish c&w Larry Cunningham’s ‘Tribute to Jim Reeves’ in 1964. They did a bit of gentle pop, including “His Girl” by the Canadian band The Guess Who? which managed to get to number 45 in 1966. What was really important about R&B Records was that Rita and Benny were among the very first to release Jamaican music in Britain. Ska and rock steady. Scores of great records on pretty much all their labels, from 1964 onwards. Artists included: Laurel Aitken, Dandy Livingstone, Jeanette Simpson, Junior Smith, The Itals, The Wailers, The Wrigglers, Jackie Opel, The Maytals, The Skatalites, Lee Perry, The Blue Flames, The Clarendonians, Delroy Wilson, Derrick Morgan, Don Drummond, Stranger Cole… and many, many more. You can find the (incomplete) catalogues of some of their labels on www.discogs.com [and Tapir's site - JE]. While Benny looked after the shop, Rita traveled to Jamaica to meet the musicians and buy the tapes.
Until the late 1960s there were very few places in Britain where you could buy records of Jamaican music, and R&B on Stamford Hill had all the new releases, and not just on their own labels. So their shop became a mecca for young blacks, not just from Hackney but from all over London and well beyond. Barry Service, who worked in the shop from 1970 to 1980, says that when he started there the place was packed on Friday evenings and all day Saturday, with people buying music and listening to music — it seemed like a club as much as a shop. And Rita, with her beehive haircut, presided over it all, like a queen. The shop also became very popular — because they liked ska — with the early Mods. Penny Reel, who grew up here, convincingly claims that Stamford Hill was the birthplace of Mod:
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I worked on Sundays in a record shop in the Petticoat Lane area from around 1957 to 1960 which I'm pretty sure was run by the Isens as on a couple of occasions they had me fill in at their shop in Stamford Hill which mostly sold to immigrants from the West Indies. They may have had a stall at some time in Petticoat Lane but I worked in a shop. I can't remember if they used the same name as the Stamford Hill shop (R&B Records) or where it's exact location was. I wish my memory was better - it was a long time ago.
Name
Frank Scott
(2018)
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I worked in the R & B Records shop for a while in 1967. Rita and Benny were legends in the Blue Beat, Ska and the then nascent Rock Steady scene. Mick Ford was the Manager; he and I got on really well. Friday night was a riot with a packed shop and queues out of the door, all listening to and buying 'The Latest' at 6s 8d a time. There was a particularly strong demand for high priced white-label pre-releases that would be bought by the Sound System guys. and played There was Rita and Benny also had a record company with offices further up the Stamford Hill by the cross roads. My time there coincided with Bob Thompson - aka Dandy Livingstone - who wrote and recorded 'A Message to You Rudy' which is still heard regularly, albeit in cover form.
Name
Peter R
(2020)
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I lived in Stamford Hill in the early 60s I must’ve been 12 or 13 at the time, I remember the R&B shop and Rita & Benny. At that time I was a Simon and Garfunkel and Beach Boys fan, so you can imagine my embarrassment when I pushed my way through the crowd of Ska fans with pork pie hats dancing, to ask Rita for the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album......Happy times
Name
Colin Ricardo
(2020)
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The happiest days of my life were spent in R&B Records, week in and week out What became of Rita? I believe Benny passed away some years ago. Was just telling my Son all about them, then found this article.
Thank you.
Regards Nicole
(2020)
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I worked in the Stamford Hill shop around '66-'67. Rita & Benny had anglicised their name from Isenberg to Isen-King. May seem obvious but 'R & B' stood for Rita & Benny. I've heard them described as immigrants, but they were died in the wool Jewish Londoners. They'd had a stall in Petticoat Lane which had done very well. When I knew them, they lived in Winchmore Hill I think. I knew Bob Thompson pretty well (Dandy Livingstone) and he was their big star at the time. The shop majored on Ska, Blue-Beat and the then emerging Rock Steady, but was also big on R & B (of course) Soul and Tamla. Biggest event of the week was Friday evenings when the shop was rammed. That was when all the new Jamaican releases came in - plus a few highly prized 'white-label' pre-releases that were snapped up by the 'sound-system' DJs. I had the time of my life visiting the local shebeens. Btw, it was Benny who visited Jamaica to sign talent and learn/copy the recording techniques, while Rita ran the shop - well, until Rita found out how he actually spent his time over there!
Name
Pete G
(2021)
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I remember going to R&B Records in Stamford Hill to buy my Soul / Motown records in the late 60's early 70's. Friday's were very busy when the West Indian bus drivers and conductors came in to hear and buy the latest sounds from Jamaica.
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Andy Hardy
(2022)
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This was my nans brothers and wife. My great aunt and uncle!!! My mum when she was younger worked there!! She said it was always buzzing!!!
Name
Julie Brand
(2022)
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